Bathtub Gin

132 9th AveNew York, NY 10011

Behind an unmarked door inside Stone Street Coffee Company lies Bathtub Gin, a bar that feels part social lounge, and part innocuous and refined cocktail club.

Despite its rich damask wallpaper and array of warm, plush seating, the problem with Bathtub Gin lies in the mainstream affection for speakeasy-style bars. The cozy and intimate atmosphere the space so clearly deserves is lost every weekend as it packs with an unbearably loud and boisterous crowd herded from nearby Meatpacking bars that makes ordering a drink more of a hassle than a pleasure.

There is a curious incongruity between the uncommon and elegant offerings on the appropriately gin-heavy menu and the raucous twenty-somethings ever eager to take a picture in the copper bathtub in the center of the space. Yet that's not to judge the space too harshly, as the Dutch Gin Fix with pressed lemon, combier creme de framboise, and fresh raspberries and the Blushing Lady #2 with delicate pavan liqueur, pressed lemon, light and floral bitters, and egg white are phenomenal creations, resting in the hands of visitors who inherently appreciate high style and taste.